Grace
by Sinnamon Spider
Summary: This was a man who had been thrown headfirst into a world he had known only well enough to hunt. James Norrington had fallen a long way from grace. One-shot, E/N.


Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and dialogue belong to Disney.

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A/N: I thought I'd try my hand at a little bit of angsty!Norry. I don't really feel strongly any way about our Commodore, so I hope I'm not disappointing the lovely and talented – if not somewhat mad – **MorganBonny** and **damsel-in-stress** with my take on him. Enjoy!

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**Grace**  
By Sinnamon Spider

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As she half-carried, half-dragged him from the mud, Elizabeth was sure her heart would break. She had seen much in the short time she had been thrown into the world of piracy, but nothing quite so wretchedly pitiful.

James Norrington had fallen a long way from grace.

All thoughts of Will and Jack were chased from her mind as she wrestled Norrington into the room she had rented in the Faithful Bride, ignoring the curious looks she was getting from those tavern patrons still sober enough to see. She let him drop onto the bed and turned to the washbasin, wringing the cool water from the rag and turning back to the former commodore.

He was watching her with bleary eyes, and when she moved to wipe the mud and grime from his face, an equally dirty hand came up to still her motion. "Don't bother, Elizabeth," he said dully. "I'm not worth your time."

She broke free of his grip and continued her ministrations. "Nonsense," she replied softly. "Look at you, James? What's happened to you?"

He shrugged, uncaring. "I made one mistake after another." His cloudy eyes sharpened as he looked straight at her. "The first was letting you go."

Flushing with shame and dismay, she turned away. "I'm sorry, James. I deserve the blame for everything that's happened to you. I made a promise and I should have honoured it." She looked back at him. "But…"

"You would have never been happy, and I would have never forgiven myself," he said in a sing-song voice. "Yes, I've been over it all quite a few times." His tone grew sardonic, holding a touch of his old confidence, and for a second, it was Commodore Norrington addressing her. "And I can't really let you take all the credit. You've always been one for dramatics and I'm not really in the mood for all that."

She glared at him, snatching back the washrag. "I'm not trying to be dramatic. I'm trying to tell you that I'm sorry."

He struggled into a sitting position, clawing his stringy hair away from his face. "I don't need your pity. I have quite enough of my own."

Exasperated, she flung the washrag back into the basin and pointed at the door. "Fine, then. Leave. If you don't need my pity or my help, then leave." She folded her arms over her tightly bound chest, staring at him, waiting.

Commodore Norrington dissolved and James, the man who had lost his entire world in a fearsome storm, returned. He held out a hand to her, pleading. "Elizabeth, I'm so sorry."

The helpless sound of his voice, once so certain and commanding, broke through her anger and she crossed the room back to the bed, looking down at him. He held her gaze, and she was reminded again of the man that haltingly offered himself in marriage to her. He had done it out of a sense of duty and necessity, but she had seen the fear and insecurity in his eyes and it had softened the irritation she felt; how could he think she could just accept such a lacklustre proposal from a man she had never even considered in a romantic light?

That same fear was in his eyes now as he stared up at her, but amplified. A rejected proposal was one thing, but this was a man who had been thrown into a world he had known only well enough to hunt.

Suddenly her pity overwhelmed her and she fell to her knees on the bed beside him and drew him into her arms, careless of the mud that still covered him. He clung to her like a drowning man clings to a life preserver, and for the first time, she was able to truly imagine what her life would have been like had she accepted his proposal.

Not anything like her life was now, but a far cry from unbearable.

She was jerked from her reverie when she felt warm lips on her neck. She pulled away from James with a gasp. "James…"

"Forgive me. I got carried away." His voice was clipped and formal, but when he turned away, she saw the hurt on his face. She bit her lip, torn. Hadn't she done enough to this man? How could she reject him yet again?

Although she could not return him to grace, she could at least save, for one night, from the demons that plagued him.

A voice in her head screamed that she was betraying Will, but she silenced it and pressed her lips against James'. His hands came around her, pulling her close, and Elizabeth lost herself in his touch.

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Norrington leaned over the rail to vomit explosively, and Jack wrinkled his nose. "You smell funny!" he retorted to the former commodore's insults about both his compass and his standards. He turned his attention to Elizabeth, who was watching Norrington. She started when she felt his eyes on her, turning away from Norrington with what appeared to Jack to be guilt written on her face. He filed that bit of information away for later use.

"Jack, all I want is to find Will."

He made a few absent motions, casting about for something trite to tell her, but her wording caught his ear. He cocked his head at her.

"Are you certain? Is that what you really want most?"

Her eyes flickered once more in Norrington's direction before locking on his own. "Of course."

Jack grinned. She was making it too easy.

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End file.
